


Runaways

by super_madi



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Future Fic, Love, Reunions, Songfic, inspired by the killers, runaways - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-01
Updated: 2017-11-04
Packaged: 2019-01-27 16:05:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12585556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/super_madi/pseuds/super_madi
Summary: It has been six years since the couple left their small town lives behind. Now as their best friends walk up to them on the beach they have some news to share...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is inspired by Runaways by The Killers.

_Blonde hair blowin' in the summer wind_

_A blue-eyed girl playing in the sand_

We sat sitting on the beach. The blonde sitting between my legs as we both read our respected books. It was a beautiful day, warm enough to enjoy the sunshine but with a slight breeze, it was perfect. Out in front of us was a little girl playing in the sand. She had my blue eyes and her mother's blonde hair. She was playing with a boy who looked the complete opposite of her with black hair and green eyes, it was weird to think they were twins. 

I leaned down to kiss the blonde in front of me on her head, drawing her attention away from her book. She smiled back at the warmth of the touch. 

“Hi.” She said quietly.

“hey.” I then looked up at our kids. “I can’t believe they haven’t gotten tired of the sand yet.” 

“Well, the day is still young.” She said as she turned around and faced me before she kissed me tenderly. 

After what felt like only a few seconds a cry broke us apart. “I jinxed it,” I said quietly as she slowly back away still smiling. 

“Mommy!” The little girl cried as the little boy was right behind her.

“whats wrong baby?” Betty said to the small blonde girl crying in front of her.

“Holdy ruined my castle!” She said pointing to the pile of sand that remained where the little girl was sitting before. 

“Did not!” “Did too!” They bickered back and forth.

I knelt down in from of my son looking at his green eyes. “Holden, did you ruin your sister's sandcastle?” 

He got an innocent look on his face. “It was an accident, I just wanted to play.” 

“Okay, can you tell your sister your sorry?” 

“I’m sworry Jules.” 

“It's okay. Wanna help build a bigger one?” She asked as both of their faces lit up and they ran back to the castle. 

“You made some cute kids Betts,” I said wrapping my hands around her waist as I kissed her neck. 

“Well, I didn’t do it alone.” She said smiling in a flirty way

“Maybe you can remind me?” I said kissing my way from her neck to jaw to lips and repeating. 

“Mommy! Daddy!” The little kids yelled pulling them from each other as they ran up to the adults. 

“Whats wrong guys?” 

They just pointed to the people walking up to them from the main road that was next to their house on the beach. As the pair got closer they began to see the red hair of the male and the dark hair of the woman holding a pair of heels in her hand with the other interlocked with his. 

“Oh, crap,” I said rolling my eyes knowing who the two were as Betty looked shocked. 

“How did they find us?” She asked quietly looking to me for an answer. 

“I don’t know but I guess we can’t hide anymore,” I replied taking her hands to keep her fingers from digging into her palms. 

“Holden take Juliet and go pick up your toys okay? Then we can go have some lunch, that sound good?” I said looking to the twins as they stared at the strangers walking towards them. Holden nodded and took his sister's hand and lead her away. For only five and a half years old he was a lot like Jug was when he was that age, smart and protective of his younger sister, even if it was just by a few minutes. 

He hadn’t noticed when they were farther away but following them closely was a small little boy with brown hair and brown eyes who looked like he was in his own little world. He looked like Veronica but seemed to act like Archie, he had to be their kid. 

Looking at the blonde who was getting anxious quickly I decided it was best to talk first. 

“Uh, hey guys. You guys are a little far from Riverdale.” I said trying to cover up have nervous I was. 

Veronica quickly dropped her shoes and Archies hand and ran to the blonde wrapping her arms around her tightly. It took her a moment but Betty hugged the girl back. 

I looked at the redhead who was waiting on the little boy to catch up. 

“Hey Jug.” He said with a slight smile

“Hey Arch,” I replied waiting to see what would happen when he wrapped his arms around me similarly as the girls did the moment before. 

“Daddy I’m hungry.” The little blonde girl said tugging at my pants leg. 

We both pulled away from the hug as I smiled picking up my daughter. “Me too Jules lets go inside.” 

The short walk to our house along the trail made up after living there for almost six years was smooth and quiet, besides the kids of course. Juliet and Holden were talking the whole time, mainly to each other but everyone just listened. Betty unlocked the front door and let everyone inside. The house was a cute four bedroom house, enough for the small family so that they would be comfortable as the twins grew older. 

“Uh don’t take this the wrong way but how did you guys afford this place?” Archie said walking into the house. 

I just smiled knowing that two poor runaways couldn’t afford anything close to this, even with the odd jobs he got to support them. 

“Actually the serpents found it. One of their wives parents had moved into a retirement home and wanted to keep the house in the family. So when they learned we needed a home they offered us this at a pretty fair price.”

The twins had run off to the living room while they waited for their parents to make them lunch. 

“Uh does he want something to eat?” I asked awkwardly not knowing the little boy's name. 

“Oh, I totally forgot. Honey come here.” Veronica said holding her hand out to her son. “This is Parker Grey Andrews. He is almost 4.” 

“Parkwr do you want to play with us?” The small blonde girl said standing next to her parents as he just nodded and followed the girl into the bigger room.

“What are their names?” Veronica asked watching her son. 

“Juliet Grace and Holden James,” Betty said smiling at the sight of her kids playing as she did when she was younger. 

“Arch wanna help me with lunch?” I asked knowing Betty would want time to talk to Veronica alone. 

He follows me into the Kitchen and I start getting the ingredients to make sandwiches. “Does Parker like turkey?” I ask before I start making three turkey and cheese sandwiches. Archie just nods looking around at the looking at the pictures on the fridge. 

There are a few photos printed from emails we’d gotten of Polly and her kids, some drawings the kids did, and some newspaper clippings with the name Elizabeth Cooper in the byline. 

“Uh Arch as much as I love seeing you I gotta ask, what are you guys doing here and how did you even find us?” I said looking at him. 

He sighed. “well actually Jug I’m here about your dad.” 

“My dad?” I asked surprised.

“Yeah uh I don’t really know how to say this but he was attacked in the lunchroom at the prison he was being held in. One of the guys had a knife and well he died in the infirmary of the prison waiting for the doctors. I’m so sorry Jug-“ 

“No, its okay Arch. It’s not your fault. Um thanks for coming all this way to tell me.” I said not knowing how to react, so I picked up the three sandwiches and brought them to the three hungry kids in the living room playing with Holden’s action figures and Juliet’s Barbie. 

I saw Betty watching me as she softly touched my arm asking me if I was okay without using words. I know Veronica must have told her while I was in the Kitchen. 

“I’m okay Betts.” I said giving a small smile. 

“Uh, how long ago was this?” I looked to the two people still awkwardly standing near the entryway. 

“About seven months ago.” Veronica spoke up as I silently took it all in. 

I nodded before I spoke feeling like I needed a glass of water. “Uh, will you excuse me for a second,” I said as I started walking towards the side door that connected to the garage when an arm stopped me. 

“Jug.” She said looking into my eyes with her soft green ones. “be home for dinner?” She asked knowing I needed space as I nodded in response before kissing her forehead. I then grabbed my keys and started the old motorcycle as I drove away from the small house filled with too much history. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a flashback chapter

_We got engaged on a Friday night_

_I swore on the head of our unborn child that I could take care of the three of us_

_But I got the tendency to slip when the nights get wild._

_It's in my blood_

_She says she might just runaway somewhere else, some place good_

 

 

 

She stood there in her graduation cap and gown, crying. The warm air of summer was trying to push its way into Riverdale but the cool air of spring still pushed back. After the graduation ceremony, we had gone out to eat with her parents and then back to the trailer. She had seemed off all day, but he didn't want to mention it until they were alone. 

“Betty just please tell me whats wrong, please,” I begged her. We had just graduated, we should of been happy to be done with the small town as we made plans to leave and go to college in the city. 

“Jug. I’m pregnant.” She said still crying with her make up running down her cheeks. I stood in shock, I almost ran away from the beautiful blonde. But instead I just wrapped my arms around her trying to calm her down.

“I want to keep it.” She said quietly after a few minutes of silence. “If you don’t want to then I’ll be okay I can raise the baby by myself.”

I stared at her in shock. “What no. Betty I love you and our baby.” I said kissing her forehead. “How long have you known?” I asked gently. 

“I found out about three weeks ago. I was almost two weeks late when I realized. So I took a test and then scheduled a doctors appointment to confirm. He said I’m about two months along.”

“Two months?” I tried thinking back to what two months ago when I remembered our senior class trip over spring break. Veronica got her parents to let us stay in their lake house for the week. She’d invited us, Kevin, Reggie, and Cheryl.  No parents or school, just a bunch of teenagers spending the day by the lake and the nights by the fire, mostly always with some type of drink in their hands. Normally the couple doesn’t drink but when Cheryl suggested a drink game, even they couldn’t resist. Jump to the next morning with the two of them with the two of them naked in bed and Betty aching more than usual he just hoped they remembered to be safe. Turns out they hadn’t. 

“I wish I remembered more of it.” I said trying to get a smile to form through the tears. 

I held her in my arms as she began to calm down. I stood up and walked to my room in the back of the trailer and grabbed the small velvet box. 

I walked back to her as she had taken off the cap and gown revealing her dress underneath which a small tiny bump could be seen only if you looked hard enough. I put my hand to her stomach before I got down on one knee and grabbed both her hands. “I was waiting until we were somewhere romantic, but this is as good of a time as any.”  I took a breath in, “Even before I climbed up that ladder and kissed you I have been in love with you. Saying it every day since to myself and eventually after the Jubilee to you out loud. Hearing you say it back was when I knew I’d spend the rest of my life with you. We’ve been to Hell and back and I can’t wait for what happens next but whatever does happen I want you next to me, not just as my girlfriend but my wife. So Elizabeth Cooper will you-“ “Yes. Yes. A million times yes.” She said interrupting my speech. 

“You gotta let me finish.” I said smiling as I stood up to look into her green eyes. “Will you marry me?” Her face lite up like the night sky as she put her hand to my cheek and kissing me. 

“I’ll take that as a yes.” I said smiling at her as she just glowed back. I slipped the single band ring with a small diamond on her finger. 

We got engaged on a Friday night in May. “I promise I’ll take care of you and our baby from here on out. My dad was never a great dad, but I’m going to be better than him. Even if I slip up I promise to always come home to hold you in my arms as we fall asleep.” I held her in a hug for what felt like forever, she drifted in-between sleep as we laid on the couch. 

“Juggie I don’t want to raise our baby here. I wanna leave, run. Go someplace else, somewhere good. Some place where fathers don't murder their sons, gunman don't run loose, and where people won’t judge us for everything.” 

“What are you saying Betty?” 

“I wanna run away.” 

By Monday morning we were gone. The serpents gave us the keys to the house down by the shore, we said out goodbyes (even if they didn’t know it was goodbye), and packed up all of our things into my dads truck, bike included, and Alice Coopers small SUV. She’d be the only one to know why we were leaving, where we were going and that we’d never becoming back. 


	3. Chapter 3

After a few hours of driving along the coast and back, I walk back into the house. As soon as I entered I heard laughing and squealing. The kids ran around the house as Archie chased them while the two women just watched smiling. 

“Daddy!” Juliet said as she noticed me in the doorway and came running towards me so I could pick her up. 

“Hey Jules, having fun?” I asked the smiley blonde

“Of course Daddy! Uncle Archie was telling us stories about when you were wittle!” She said in her young voice. 

“Oh really? What did Uncle Archie tell you huh?” I said looking at the redhead who just smiled slightly as he kept chasing the boys.

“He told us about a wree house you had! Can we have a wree house too?” The little girl asked excitedly.

“Maybe someday baby.”  She then wiggled out of my arms and landed on the floor and went to back to playing. I walked into the living room where the two women sat catching up on life. I leaned down to kiss Betty on the forehead. She looked up at me with a sad smile as she squeezed my hand. I just nodded and head to our bedroom. I just sat on the edge of our bed, I didn’t even hear her enter the room. She just sat next to me and held my hand again. 

“Am I a bad person?” I asked breaking the silence between us. 

She looked at me shocked. “What no. Why would you think that?”

“I got you pregnant at 18, we never got to go to college, never got to see our best friends get married or even have our own. I left my dad in prison where he died alone.” I didn’t even notice I was crying until Betty wiped the tears from my cheeks.

“You are a great man. You gave me two beautiful children, a beautiful house and sure we never got married but we have our whole lives. Your dad loved you, I know it. I never told you this but I’d sent him some photos of us and the kids and well he sent two letters back. One to you and one saying how beautiful the kids are and how happy he was for us. I didn’t open yours but I put it away in case you ever wanted to.” She reached over into her nightstand and shuffled through old papers until she pulled out a slightly roughed up envelope. She laid it down next to me, kissed my cheek and went out the door as silently as she came in. 

I stared at the letter deciding if I wanted to open it or not. I then tore open the old envelope and just stared at my dad's messy handwriting. 

_Jug,_

_I don’t really know what to say. Betty sent me some pictures, the twins are beautiful. The little boy, Holden I think, he looks just like you. I hope you are happy, Alice visited once after you kids left. She told me you all were safe and moved down to the shore somewhere. I know you will make a great father, learn from my mistakes. Just remember that no matter what I love you son. I hope to get to see those kids in person some day._

_Love,_

~~_FP_ ~~ _Dad_

I wiped the tears that had fallen down my face. He’d never get to see them, they would never know their grandfather. As messed up as FP had made his life he was a good man in the end. 

“Hey Jug?” Archie said as he knocked on the door. I looked up at him and he had a box in his hands. 

“So the reason we came looking for you guys, and well actually found you was because of this.” He said as he put down the box next to the bed. “Don’t get me wrong. We’ve been searching for you guys for six years now, but Alice finally let it slip a few months ago.” 

“I’m sorry we hid from you guys but we just couldn’t stay in Riverdale and New York isn’t the home we needed.” 

“Don’t be sorry man, I understand. Sure I was pissed at first but Ronnie convinced me that you guys would only leave if you had a good reason.” He looked at the box again. “So when your dad passed it took us a while but we finally got Sheriff Keller to give us FP’s things. It wasn’t a lot except a letter from Betty, a few pics of some kids and what looked like a Will. Turns out it was only the draft but it lead us to a safety deposit box in Greendale. This is what was in the box, besides the gun in there, Sheriff took that.” Archie said with a shrug. “I’ll leave you to it.” He said as he left the man alone again. 

With a deep breathe I took the lid off of the box and began to go through it. Inside was a final will, an old photo album, a few old shirts, an old stuffed animal and a small piece of paper folded up. He unfolded the paper, it was a small list. 

_To-Do:_

_Get Sober_

_Get a job_

_Make Jug proud_

 

It made him shed another tear. He wiped it away and looked at the final will. He read it over twice. His father had left him everything. He left him the empty trailer sitting at Sunnyside. He left him any money he had to his name, which wasn’t much and what was left in the box. The old stuffed animal was the same he had given Jug for his 16th birthday and he left behind. Lastly, he opened the old photo album, it was filled with pictures from FP’s high school days, a few of his family and then finished with pictures from Jughead and Jellybean’s childhood. 

“Daddy?” The little boy spoke taking Jughead out of the memories from the album. “Are you okay?” He asked as he climbed up onto the bed next to his dad. 

“Yeah. I’m just a little sad.” He spoke softly. “Want to see some pictures of when I was younger?” The young boy climbed into his dad's lap to be able to see the pictures. He went through pointing out each person in the photos. 

“That is your aunt Jellybean and me. We use to sneak into movies just so we could watch them on weekends.” He said pointing to the photo of them at the old Twilight Drive-in. 

“That is Uncle Archie and me on our first day of fourth grade.” He said flipping through the old photos. It jumped around a lot, skipping a lot of important events, especially after his mom and sister had left. He told a story about each one, he liked seeing photos he never knew that even existed. 

“This is your mom and me at a high school dance. Isn’t she pretty?” He said pointing to the rare photo from their high school homecoming. 

As he came across the end of the book a small post-it note stuck to one of the pages. It was from Fred Andrews. 

_Jug, I thought a few high school memories would be nice to remember as well._

It made sense that he had put a few in, mostly their senior year of high school when FP was already in jail. It was an album made up of his biological dad and the man who acted as one when needed. 

The last photo was of him, Betty, Archie and Veronica on their graduation day. He hadn’t gotten a chance to ever see them but it was the last photo before their lives changed forever. It marked the end of his old life and the start of his new.

“Woah.” His son said as he reached into the box and grabbed the old stuffed animal. “Was he yours?” He asked as he held the old sheepdog in his arms. 

“Yeah buddy. Do you want him?” The little boy's eyes lit up with excitement. 

“Hot dog. Is that his name?” The little boy said looking at the old cloth collar around its neck. 

“Yeah, I named him after my second favorite food at the time. You can change it if you want.” He said running his hand through his son's black hair. 

“No its perfect!” He then jumped down from the bed and ran out the door. “Hey, Jules look what I got!” 

He carefully put everything back into the box laying the picture album on top. Before he closed the top he noticed another piece of paper sticking out of the cover of the album. 

_Go make your own memories._

It was his dad's familiar handwriting. He carefully put the note inside the album before closing the box and carrying it over to a safe spot in the closet. Shutting the door he went out to where his son had rejoined his sister and new family members in the main room. Juliet played with an old stuffed cat of Betty’s that Alice had given them on the trip down and Holden was with his new dog. Archie was play wrestling with his son as the women watched from the couch. I sat down next to Betty and wrapped my arm around her shoulder. 

“You doing okay?” She asked softly.

“Yeah, a lot better than I thought I would,” I said before kissing her forehead. “You should see this old photo album my dad left me. It has photos of him and Fred in high school up to our graduation photo.” 

“Oh, I love that photo!” Veronica commented happily. 

“We should take one of all of us,” Betty said looking around to the people around her. 

“The ultimate then and now pic!” Veronica said excitedly. “Arch toss me my phone.” She said to her husband. 

She set her phone up on a timer and everyone got ready. They made sure the order was the same with Archie, Veronica, Betty then himself but with a kid in between with Juliet in the middle. 

“I think I have a new favorite photo.” She said looking at her phone.  After sharing it with the number Betty had given her and then posting it on social media, with their permission, they all sat back down on the couch. 

“What do we want for dinner?”


	4. Chapter 4

I pulled my old truck into the paved driveway, Betty and her mom wouldn’t be there for a few hours due to the fact Alice had set up an appointment with a nearby doctor. She said she would want to know her daughter and grandchild was in good hands. 

So I took it upon myself to start unpacking. The house was nice, it was a one-story house but with a spacious basement. An extra room downstairs was to be set up as a guest room with the use of an office also, being that they won’t have that many guests. The house came pre-furnished with all of the old owner's basic things like bed frames, a dining room table with chairs and a couch. The kitchen was recently updated so their money could be saved for more furniture and things for the baby. Luckily we had already been saving for New York so we had enough money to get by for a while. I brought in all of the boxes from my truck and unloaded my bike and put it in the shed around the side. Being tired from the long drive I decided to rest my eyes on the couch. 

I was awoken by the entrance of the two Cooper women. 

“Hey babe how was the appointment?” I asked rubbing my eyes and adjusting my beanie. 

“It was good. I really like the doctor and we even got a sonogram!” She said as he handed me a piece of paper. I looked at it and realized that there were two babies in the picture. I looked to her with shock as she just smiled and nodded back at me. I quickly pulled her into a hug unable to believe that we were going to have twins. In 24 hours we’d gone from high school students to parents of twins. 

“Jug-Head will you help me with the boxes?” Alice said pulling us out of our bubble. I stood up in agreement quickly and followed her outside. 

“I know I’m not the person you wanted Betty to end up with but thank you for supporting us,” I said as I opened the trunk door. 

“You weren’t my first choice but as your relationship with my daughter grew I guess our opinion of you changed as well. You may be named after him but you are already ten times the man FP was at your age.” She said as she grabbed a box labeled _Betty._ “We will keep accepting you as long as you continue to support my daughter as we have supported you guys. You are a far drive from Riverdale so she is going to need you more than ever.” She said with a stern expression. 

“I plan to be there for her through it all. Every craving, every mood swing, every diaper change, and every birthday to come.” I said as I kept eye contact with the older woman who just nodded in reply.  I grabbed a box and went inside where Betty stood next to the open door. 

“Do you really mean all that Juggie?”

“Of course. I promise even when I get all moody that no matter what you won’t be alone. We will eat every dinner together as a family. All four of us.” I said kissing her forehead and continued to bring box after box in. 

After a few hours of unpacking, Alice had to make the drive back to Riverdale. She hugged her daughter tightly. “I expect to hear from you at least once a week. A phone call, email, and letter in the mail are all accepted.” She said smiling at her youngest daughter. She moved to me where she stared me down. “I expect a call from you when she goes into labor and when the twins are born.” She then gave me an unexpected hug. “Take care of her.” She said softly as I nodded back. 

“Stay safe. Keep me updated.” She said as she waved to us as she walked to her now empty car. Betty was crying as her mom drove out of sight. I wrapped her in my arms as I closed the door, it was only us now. 

“Are you hungry?” She asked between cries. “We picked up some groceries.” 

“Let's go make our first dinner of many.” I grabbed her hand and we walked to the kitchen together. 

It became an everyday thing. We would make dinner together before sitting down on the couch and watching whatever was on TV. It didn’t matter as long as we had each other. 

After the twins were born Alice came down again to help us out. Without her, I don’t think we would have made it through the first week. She stayed a whole month helping with things around the house like grocery shopping and other basic household chores. When she left Betty cried again but this time we watched her leave as we held two little newborns in our arms. The little girl held one hand around my finger and her other around the stuffed cat that Alice had given her. 

“Dinner?” I asked knowing what the answer would be as she smiled back to me. 

 

* * *

 

That night we ate dinner at the full dining room table for the first time. Archie and Veronica ended up staying the weekend. They promised to come back soon with the plan to stay longer sometime in the upcoming summer. Knowing that Veronica would make sure it happened the goodbye wasn’t as hard as the last one. Still, Betty cried as we watched them drive away from the house, and I wrapped my arm around her. The two little kids each holding their stuffed animals as they waved goodbye to their new family members. 

“Are you okay?” I asked her as she looked up at me with a sad smile. 

“Yeah. I have you and our two beautiful kids. Sure I miss my friends but I have all the family I need right here.” She said as she kissed me

“Good because I’m not going anywhere, Cooper.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -FIN-
> 
> Thanks for reading!  
> Like and comment if you want :)  
> Find me on Tumblr @ super-madi16

**Author's Note:**

> Don't be afraid to comment and like :)
> 
> Find me on Tumblr @ super-madi16


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